Josephine

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The Crossing[/align]


Spending the evening at Emma's was always enjoyable. A gathering of friends for an evening was a usual diary date for us all and one we never missed.

Surrounded by a poor attempt of a BBQ and an on tap supply of alcoholic beverages was a common thing with our little group but nothing out of the ordinary with us. I wasn't in the mood to drink to be honest, preferred a good old cuppa tea on an evening such as this. My fingers were comfortably numb being wrapped around an over sized coffee mug, whilst chatting with the girls.

Cheyanne was a regular at these meets, with me, we'd grown up together. Also known as 'Chey', she stood at 5ft8, slightly smaller in height than me but built like a ballerina. Her petite silhouette was a misgiving to her actual self, for Chey had a way with words, to say the least. Not many people could put up with her on a first meet, with her outlandish views and outspoken personality, she was sure to cause meyham in the majority of places she went. But as my best friend, she got an exclusive ticket or ignorance with me. But tonight, Chey was being extra careful in her communication attempts, even though her dry humour was lost on the attending crowd.

As the evening drew to a close, I said my good byes, wrapped myself up ready to embrace the cold awaiting me outside the loneliness of the night. April was never the warmest month in this country but taking a deep breath before letting out a tired sigh, I headed on my way.

Walking through the recreational ground, I got a slight sense that I was being watched from a distance. Looking around, I could only see a fox scurry across the field, possibly in search of his next meal.

It was rather windy tonight, being mid spring, you'd expect there to be still and possible humid airs but this is England we are talking about! Lucky if we get a month's worth of heat, let alone a whole summer of it but I'm not complaining. Walking silently along the pathway, with just my thoughts of the past few nights, I didn't even notice the rustling of leaves that the wind had brushed past me.

I was sure that Nate would be waiting in my living room for my return, of course he knows how much I hate walking alone, sometimes I wish that 6th sense of his would kick in when I need it to!
Shaking that thought away,I pushed it to the back of my mind for another occasion, possibly one where I would have the balls to say it to his face instead of clamming up like a 13yr old school girl with her first crush.

So, marching on I got to the edge of the Rec grounds when I was startled by a blurred shape running across to the right of me in the distance. Turning to see what the fuss was about, I could see it lurking in the shadows, the red eyes, those red eyes from my nightmares! Staring out at me, like I was some kind of trophy it had to have in that split second. The dark figure prowled slower towards me, a voice in my head was screaming at me to run, run now and don't look back but my body and curiosity got the better of me whilst I stood there, dumb founded and intrigued. That sent was vaguely familiar to me,making me want to go closure to this strange being and in that instance I knew what I was staring at wasn't of human form.

Damn it, wasn't your 'fight/flight' sense supposed to kick in? Trust me to not act like any other normal person!

My night stalker let out a low grunt in approval and then I knew it, my nightmares flashing back through my mind, scene after scene, where he would always rip at my flesh.

He didn't want to hurt me. Him? Did I just think of it as a him!

I took a step closure to my predator in a strange hope that he would emerge from the shadows and come to me. Stretching out my left hand, I coaxed him gently but he growled and reclined further into the darkness that covered the trees. A strong gust of wind blew and rumbled the branches of his disguise and just then, in that second, he was gone and so was my strange sense of him that I felt.

Zipping up my jacket, I continued up the path, out through the Rec's gateway and into the neighboring housing estate towards the warmth and comfort of my own home. I was actually really looking forward to Nate's company after that strange meeting, it threw me off guard, anxious if you will and I'd rather have someone around that I knew could look after me if things went downhill rapidly. Yes, I like my independence but I will be the first to admit that having a strong male about keeps me feeling secure.

Stopping at the front gate, I placed my hand on the ice cold railings before moving on. I just couldn't shake that familiar feeling, it was like I was being called for but why? Why would I feel like this? I had a yearning for more, to run away with him into the black of the night, run freely with no troubles.

Hoping that Nate hadn't sensed this from me, I carried on through the gate. As I reached for my keys, he opened the front door from inside MY home, greeting me in no other way than he knew how to, when it came to me and Nate, there was no 'personal boundaries'. Wrapping his cool arms around my shoulders and placing his addictive lips on my cheek, Nate said hi and lead me to the sofa, "How was your evening, Jen?"

He was fixated on me at this point. What do I do, how do I act? Does he know what happened? God, I am rubbish at lying grrrrr! so I picked up the TV remote and focus my attention as I switched on Living TV, letting out a sigh.

" It was OK, nothing to brag about, I'm just tired to be honest. Can we just sit here tonight and relax, I'd really enjoy that"

Looking up at me, Nate took off his jacket and slung it neatly over the back of the single seated sofa before moving towards me. I sat up, giving him the access to slip in behind me, which he did with the grace of an Angel, how ironic! "Jen, you smell weird, have you been around any animals this evening?"

Uh oh, sussed! Damn it! "Erm, come to think of it, yeah, Em's has a Husky"

Lie!

Nate wrinkled his nose before taking in a deep breath, pulling me back into him as he settled in for the rest of the evening.

If only he knew!